I received a quite a few requests to provide drawings or plans of my
overarm blade guard and dust collector. I didn't have any formal drawings
when I designed and built the blade guard but Ponders gave me that extra
push to get the job done. The drawings were done on PowerPoint. I wanted
to make the drawings and procedure easy to follow so even those without
CAD or drawing experience could build the blade guard. I accept no responsibility
for any injuries or mishaps that occur when using the blade guard from this
design. The design is sound. How you plan to use it is up to you.

Blade guard with the structural
assembly(Click for larger image)

Use this design for your own use and pleasure. Copy it, modify it, share
it with your woodworking friends. I'm sharing this design because I firmly
believe that it provides a safe environment in the shop and will not cost
you an arm and a leg to build. Also, Badger Pond has provided me with so
much pleasure and knowledge that I wanted to give back something to all
my friends here at the Pond.

After two years of not having any blade guard on my Delta Contractors
saw, I decided to bite the bullet and build one. I examined the design
of 3 or 4 blade guards and none of them had all the features I wanted.
I wanted a blade guard that would not only protect my fingers from the
spinning blade but would also provide excellent dust collection. I believe
I achieved this in my design. The total cost for all parts came in at just
under $100.00. Not bad, huh? Best of all, there is virtually no dust given
off when ripping a board or running a panel through the saw and there is
very little dust when crosscutting.

The Lexan blade guard with screw
locations(Click for larger image)

The blade guard is made from 3/8" Lexan. I wanted a clear material
that would be almost bullet proof and Lexan met the requirement. I used
my table saw to cut the Lexan pieces and the Forrest WWII blade did a great
job! I decided to attach all the Lexan pieces together with screws, rather
than permanently bond them. This allows me to change out one piece at a
time, rather than replace the entire blade guard, if something were to happen.
The biggest challenge I faced was drilling the 3" hole in the Lexan
top for the 3" plastic splice. If done correctly, the splice will fit
into the 3" hole very snugly, requiring no hardware for the connection.

The majority of the structural mechanism that supports the blade guard
is aluminum. The telescoping unit is made from 1 1/2", 1 1/4",
and 1" steel square tubing. The top of the telescoping unit is bolted
to a 2" x 2" x 1/8" piece of angle iron that is bolted to
the ceiling. The telescoping unit is also bolted to a garage door support
where it will not interfere with the garage door wheel mechanism. If you
do not have a place in your shop to bolt the tubing to the ceiling, you
may want to design a method to mount it to the shop floor, extension table,
or a mobile base.

The entire system, including the
steel tubing and dust collection(Click for larger image)

Aluminum structural mechanism with T knobs

I designed the blade guard so it will not lift up when cutting. The aluminum
structural mechanism uses T knobs to tighten the structure and hold the
blade guard into place. I prefer to have the bottom of the guard 1/16"
to 1/8" above the work piece. This provides additional protection against
accidentally running my fingers into the blade. Blade guards that lift up
over the work piece do not provide this level of protection. The locking
mechanism also allows the blade guard to be held above the table when changing
blades and cleaning the table top. The steel tubing that makes up the telescoping
unit can also be adjusted to raise the blade higher. The blade guard can
also be easily removed from the structural mechanism.